JBL S38 Bookshelf Speakers
JBL S38 Bookshelf Speakers
[Nov 25, 2001]
Joe Sabato
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Clarity, Dynamics, Ability to play loud without strain ( I have a "dead" room). Good bass response.
Weakness:
No major weaknesses Great sounding speakers, especially for the price. The horizontal orientation was a plus for me since my Projection set has bookshelves around it and (these fit and look great), at the same height as the S-Center aimed slightly down give a great front soundstage with no "vertical shift" on left to right pans. ( Yeah, I know they would sound better on stands, but there have to be some compromises for domestic peace, I have 7 speakers in the room, 2 of them being large towers for sub-bass, no use pushing it). By the way, the S-Centers 3 way design avoids the sound shifts off axis that most other centers give. Highly reccomended; see reviews in the major audio mags for details. Similar Products Used: Many other brands over the years |
[Oct 01, 2001]
Bleo
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
crisp clear sound , great design
Weakness:
none I use them as rear speaker. Similar Products Used: Wharfedale MFM-5 |
[Oct 22, 2001]
henry li
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
well, everything about it is alright
Weakness:
built quality, look it sound kinda...bad(so far).I dont know why 5 star was given every where to these speakers...well. when I got them from consumer direct one of them was not working, didnt want to wait so I just opened it, what a joke one of the wire was not pluged...(did those guys open it took a look and forgot to plug it back or testing how high it can bounce from second floor hard to imaging)the speaker by them self sounds like sth is missing. at the same time they do look ugly to me. yeah well I might place them wrong or something(like its that big deal). first few week of get in to these stuff, glad if someone can help. Similar Products Used: monitor audio s4i, bose, psb |
[Jan 24, 2002]
Joe
Audiophile
Strength:
Value,Build,Sound
Weakness:
ZERO FOR THE $$$$$$ We bought these speakers w/o listening to them. I read the review is Stereophile then checked out the reviews @ Audio review. The speakers (2 pairs) are for business use (Bar). Remember they will be played everyday (Audio & TV broadcast) 365 days a year. Only time will tell how well they hold up. But with the very inexpensive extended warranty through Etronics you can’t lose. |
[Jan 24, 2002]
Manoj Vishnu
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Strong overall. Looks great w/o the grill
Weakness:
none I love the sound of music on my s38's. The tweeters work great! The base levels are good too. No complainst what so ever. Similar Products Used: nothing to compare |
[Jan 25, 2002]
Tom Johnson
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Nice to look at. Big boomy sound. Very well defined sound field for home theater.
Weakness:
Big, at least they are for a bookshelf speaker. These are very good speakers. Suprising bass from a small box, but much better sound when I added a Velodyne 1012x Sub. The speakers are really "cool" to look at, but, alas, my wife makes me leave the grills on. The only problem I've had with these speakers is that they are large, very large and extremely heavy. But, if that's the price I pay for the sound quality I get from these babies, then so be it. These rock! Similar Products Used: Bose, Cerwin Vega and Infinity |
[Jan 25, 2002]
Chuck Corsillo
Audio Enthusiast
I'm not ready to write a review yet, although after one month, I love them more than the Missions I had for over a year.... |
[Jan 04, 2002]
Matt Gattiker
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Everything
Weakness:
Awkward Cabinent The speakers are amazing. When listening to them at a dealer, I had no idea how great they really were. For a smaller sized woofer, they produce incredible bass, something I had not planned on, or even purchased them for. They are also unbelievably clear in the high frequencies. I have an old Pioneer Pro-Logic reciever and cd player and these are setup as the main speakers. Despite the Pro-Logic, these speakers sound incredible while watching movies. I use them in tandem with the S-Center and a pair of JBL N24's as the rear channel. Music, however, is mindblowing. I crank them up to a decent volume and they show no strain or distortion. The only downside is there dimensions. I find it very hard to place them. Similar Products Used: A few |
[Sep 27, 2001]
Robert
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
detail
Weakness:
none that I can think of I had a very old pair of JBL 830t's that fit perfectly along my living room wall where my old entertainment center was. My wife always hated it decided to buy a very nice three-piece entertainment with the two matching bookcases the problem was we just did not have room for the new entertainment center and those very large JBL's towers against that wall. The S38's fit into the second shelf of the entertainment center perfectly. |
[Sep 03, 2001]
Wei Wang
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
good soundstage, good bass response for a stand alone speaker system
Weakness:
The speakers somehow give a constrained feel to the sound, it's like a veil has been draped over the sound coming out of these speakers. Overall, these are nice speakers. Similar Products Used: Tested JBL S26, S310, N38, N26 |